First look at Windows 7's User Interface — At PDC today, Microsoft gave the first public demonstration of Windows 7. Until now, the company has been uncharacteristically secretive about its new OS; over the past few months MS has let on that the taskbar will undergo a number of changes …

Microsoft Delivers Pre-Beta Release of Windows 7 to Developers and Previews New Web Applications Based on Office Software — Company showcases an early version of its next client operating system designed to be faster and easier and connect across PCs, devices and the Web.

PDC: Windows 7 on tap — LOS ANGELES — It's Day 2 of Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference and the next version of the company's flagship operating system software, Windows 7, is on tap. — Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Windows and Windows Live engineering …

Microsoft Office Comes to the Browser (Finally) — Microsoft announced this morning at its PDC conference that the next release of Microsoft Office will include browser-based versions of some of its main office software products - Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

New chapter for Google Book Search — Google was built on the principle of making the world's information more accessible and useful. Before the company was even founded, Larry and Sergey imagined a way to make it easier for anyone, anywhere, to access the information held within the world's books.

New in Labs: Calendar and Docs gadgets — Gmail Labs has been a really fun way to easily try out new ideas and get some of our pet feature requests implemented quickly. We wanted to take this to the next level and let you start adding your own stuff to Gmail.

Google, Yahoo, Microsoft Set Common Voice Abroad — Principles Aim to Define Conduct With Nations That Restrict Speech, Lack Privacy Protections and Censor Search Results — Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. will announce Tuesday that they have agreed to a common set of principles …

Ten Comments You Think Are Cool And Insightful But Aren't — Comments are the lifeblood of TechCrunch, and we love 'em. But we also get our share of the freaks, conspiracy theorists and jerks out there who have something to say and believe they have a constitutional or God given right to say it, right here.

Parton Adds Voice to Argument Over White Space — Dolly Parton has stepped into the battle at the Federal Communications Commission over whether the agency should act now to begin allowing the marketing of devices that use the white space between digital TV channels.

Shakeout Threatens to Thin Out Web-Ad Brokers — As the Economy Sours and Venture Funding Grows Scarcer, Some Networks Have Begun to Exit a Crowded Niche on the Internet — More than 300 online-ad networks have cropped up over the past couple of years, making the business of brokering ads …

Rogers sells 255,000 iPhones, hurts rivals — Rogers today reported a large leap in its results for the summer quarter that were highlighted by the Canadian launch of the iPhone 3G. The telecoms company sold and activated a total of 255,000 iPhones between the device's July 11th launch …

Sonos Launches Free iPhone, iPod Touch App [Update] — Those of you with Sonos equipment already filling your abode with the sweet tunes of your music library and an iPhone or iPod Touch should promptly hit up Apple's App Store and download their free app now.

Retailers Slash Blu-Ray Player Prices — Electronics manufacturers and retail chains are slashing prices of Blu-ray players in a bid to boost adoption of the high-definition movie format, which has yet to catch on with American consumers. — Entry-level Blu-ray players have dropped …

Google's Green Agenda Could Pay Off — SAN FRANCISCO — Google, the Internet search and advertising giant, is increasingly looking to the energy sector as a potential business opportunity. — From its beginning, the company has invested millions of dollars in making its own power-hungry data centers more efficient.

Playfish Gets $17 Million More For Social Games — Over the past year video games have begun invading every computing platform, from social networks to mobile devices. They've also been picked up in the portfolios of a number of firms. — London based Playfish has just raised …

Avalanche prepares to lay off 77 staff — Avalanche Studios has confirmed that it is preparing to lay off 77 of its 160 staff due to losing two publishing contracts this year, worth around USD 34 million (EUR 27.2 million). — The studio is currently in negotiations with unions to let the staff …